Dec. 8, 2015

University of South Carolina junior Pharoh Cooper has been selected to the coaches’ All-SEC first-team unit as both a wide receiver and an all-purpose back, while junior linebacker Skai Moore earned second-team accolades, it was announced today.

Cooper a 5-11, 207-pounder from Havelock, N.C., led the team with 66 receptions for 973 yards and eight touchdowns during the 2015 campaign. He ranked second in the SEC in receiving yards (81.1) and fifth in receptions (5.5) per game. A team captain, Cooper caught 35 percent of the team’s passes for 39 percent of the yards thrown. His 66 receptions was more than the rest of the Gamecock wide receivers’ combined total of 56 and was the seventh-highest single-season mark in school history. His 973 receiving yards was the sixth-best single-season total at Carolina. He logged five 100-yard receiving games in 2015 and has nine in his three-year career. He also rushed 24 times for 111 yards and a touchdown, completed 2-of-5 passes for 11 yards and a score and returned 12 punts for 55 yards, averaging 94.9 all-purpose yards per game. Cooper was also a first-team All-SEC receiver a year ago and earned second-team honors as an all-purpose back. He finished his junior year with 138 career catches (ninth all-time) for 2,163 yards (eighth all-time) with 18 touchdown receptions (sixth all-time).

Moore, a 6-2, 218-pounder from Cooper City, Fla., paced the Gamecock defense with 111 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and four interceptions. He tied for third in the SEC in tackles (9.2) and tied for fifth in interceptions (0.33) per game. A team captain, he became the first Gamecock to reach the century mark in tackles since 2006, while his 111 tackles was the second-highest total recorded by a South Carolina player in the last 25 years. He led the team in tackles for the third-consecutive season, becoming the first Gamecock to do so since 1992-94, and led the team in interceptions for the second time in three years. He recorded double-figures in tackles six times during the 2015 campaign, including a career-high 14 stops at Texas A&M. His 11 career interceptions rank in a tie for third on the school’s all-time list.

Here is the 2015 Coaches All-SEC Teams:

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

TE – Hunter Henry, Arkansas

OL – Sebastian Tretola, Arkansas; Vadal Alexander, LSU; Cam Robinson, Alabama; John Theus, Georgia

C – Ryan Kelly, Alabama

WR – Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss; Fred Ross, Mississippi State; Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina

QB – Dak Prescott, Mississippi State

RB – Derrick Henry, Alabama; Leonard Fournette, LSU

AP – Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina

DEFENSE

DL – Myles Garrett, Texas A&M; Jonathan Allen, Alabama; Jonathan Bullard, Florida; A’Shawn Robinson, Alabama

LB – Kentrell Brothers, Missouri; Reggie Ragland, Alabama; Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt

DB — Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida; Eddie Jackson, Alabama; Jalen Tabor, Florida; Trae Elston, Ole Miss

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK — Daniel Carlson, Auburn

P — Drew Kaser, Texas A&M

RS — Evan Berry, Tennessee

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

TE — Evan Engram, Ole Miss

OL — Dominick Jackson, Alabama; Shon Coleman, Auburn; Dan Skipper, Arkansas; Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M

C – Ethan Pocic, LSU

WR — Calvin Ridley, Alabama; Christian Kirk, Texas A&M; De’Runnya Wilson, Mississippi State

QB – Chad Kelly, Ole Miss

RB – Alex Collins, Arkansas; Jalen Hurd, Tennessee

AP – Christian Kirk, Texas A&M

DEFENSE

DL – Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss; Marquis Haynes, Ole Miss; Charles Harris, Missouri; Derek Barnett, Tennessee

LB – Leonard Floyd, Georgia; Antonio Morrison, Florida; Skai Moore, South Carolina

DB — Mike Hilton, Ole Miss; Dominick Sanders, Georgia; Tre’Davious White, LSU; Jamal Adams, LSU

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK – Taylor Bertolet, Texas A&M; Adam Griffith, Alabama

P – Johnny Townsend, Florida

RS — Christian Kirk, Texas A&M